Ruth Christine gave birth to her
fifth child in Missoula, Montana the night before last. Before the
mother's pain killers had even worn off, little Abbey Rose was seized
by Montana authorities and is now being held at an undisclosed location.
Ruth was shackled and handcuffed to the bed upon which she gave birth.
Hospital attendants who witnessed the birth reportedly wept at the
spectacle.

The baby girl's condition is unknown,
but Ruth is mightily worried. "Brian (Ruth's husband) has severe allergies,
for which he requires constant medication and which little Abbey Rose
might inherit. Without the colostrum that my breast milk would have
provided, I worry about my baby's health." Colostrum, the mother's
milk that is usually a baby's first few meals, provides important
immune system reinforcement. No breast feeding. No bonding. No kidding.

Ruth was denied the opportunity
to call anybody, even her lawyer, as she was taken in chains to the
hospital delivery room.

Welcome to the New World Order,
where it "takes a village to raise a child" and parents are only custodians
for their own children, children "owned" by the State.

The morning following birth, after
the baby had been spirited away, Ruth was dragged before a judge,
bound and still senseless from medication, to be served with a warrant
for her extradition back to Oregon on charges that she abused her
other daughters and helped her husband to "kidnap" them from the Oregon
authorities who had pledged to adopt them out to others. Ruth is expected
to be handed over to Oregon within a few days. The abuse? The kids
weren't fat, like normal American kids today. Oregon state officials
claimed the girls were malnourished, yet just two weeks later pronounced
them fit, in good condition and normal.

The state alleges that Brian struck
Lydia as a part of her toilet training and she had fallen down, sustaining
a cut on her forehead and a skull fracture. The fracture was not disclosed
by initial examinations or a CT Scan, but a State-retained doctor
eventually expressed the opinion that Lydia had one, nonetheless.

Oregon's Services to Children and
Families (SCF) has promised to haul little Abbey Rose back to Oregon,
to be put up for adoption, too. I and other Christine family lawyers,
serving unpaid, are actively opposing this and rushing to have Brian's
mother, Teri Christine, named guardian, a role she has provided to
baby Olivia, Ruth and Brian's fourth baby girl, since birth. Although
the three other girls, aged 3 to 6, had lived with Teri Christine
for a year before Brian and Ruth went on the extended road trip that
ended when Grants Pass, Oregon officials seized their daughters, state
officials refused to allow them to return to her, instead shuttling
them from one Oregon foster family to another over the past year.

Only after months of legal maneuvering
has Oregon finally given up trying to get baby Olivia taken from her
grandmother and returned to be adopted out with her sisters. All members
of the family are Indiana residents.

Allan Coon, Josephine County (Oregon)
Circuit Court judge, just this afternoon issued his order that the
three older girls are to be adopted out, with the formal proceeding
to terminate Ruth and Brian's parental rights allowed to go forward.
This order followed on the heels of a spirited hearing before Judge
Coon in Grants Pass less than one week ago, at which a number of local
residents rallied to protest the treatment accorded the Christine
family.

Judge Coon stated in his order
that the parents forfeited their right to be reunified with their
daughters when they allegedly "kidnapped" the girls at gunpoint last
month, after being told by SCF that the girls were to be adopted out
regardless of what they did. The judge noted that the Christine parents
both faced "serious Ballot Measure 11 offenses in the State of Oregon"
(including a mandatory minimum sentencing law that would mete out
the same punishment as if they had kidnapped the children of strangers
and fled across state lines). Brian and Ruth Christine were apprehended
in Montana and have since been held in separate jails and denied any
opportunity to communicate with one another. Brian will be extradited
to Oregon at the same time as Ruth.

The judge's order ruled out any
possibility of a guardianship in lieu of a permanent adoption. Ruth's
parents have recently come to Oregon from their home in England and
are attempting to be the adoptive parents. No reason was given for
refusing to consider Brian's mother for adopting the girls, which
would at least unite all four (hopefully five, now ) sisters.

The potential guardianship of baby
Abbey Rose by her grandmother in Indiana took a severe turn for the
worse when Milt Datsopoulos, the lawyer we retained, even after I
promised him the payment he required for filing guardianship papers,
withdrew via facsimile message literally at the last moment, as last
weekend began, thereby all but guaranteeing that the baby would be
born without guardianship papers being timely filed, thereby opening
the door for Oregon to step in and attempt to seize the baby.

Though Mr. Datsopoulos, of Missoula,
Montana, had promised to help the Christine parents and their unborn
baby several weeks ago, he offered no reason for his withdrawal, other
than that the case was too "complex." Datsopoulos heads what is reputed
to be the largest law firm in Missoula. I am prevented from filing
the required paperwork myself because I am not admitted to practice
law in the state of Montana, as I am in Oregon, Idaho, Washington
and California (lawyers must be separately admitted to practice in
each state in which they practice, by passing that state's bar exam
along with all other lawyers fresh out of law school in that state).

The fund appeal for the Christine
defense costs stalled when the World Trade Center disaster occurred.
A little over $2,000 had been collected at that time, barely enough
to pay Datsopoulos the amount he estimated for filing the guardianship
papers.

Even if we get the guardianship
papers filed and little Abbey Rose out of harm's way, we still have
three major pieces of litigation ahead of us: Ruth's criminal trial,
Brian's criminal trial and the proceeding to terminate their parental
rights. Costs are anticipated to be substantial, particularly if we
have to hire lawyers and/or experts. I, of course, am admitted in
Oregon and am representing the Christines pro bono (for free), as
a public service since their plight is such an important object lesson
in governmental bureaucracy run amuck.